The most innovative countries in Latin America

Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama and Colombia are the best rated countries in innovation in Latin America.

In the rating made by The Global Innovation Index (GII) 2017, these five countries appeared as the best rated in the region. Chile in 46th place, Costa Rica in the 56th, Mexico in the 58th, Panama in the 63th and Colombia in the 65th.

Their positions have remained stable within the ranking in the past three years, staying close to the ones they now occupy, indicating a stagnation.

The Study was done by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) along with Cornell University and the INSEAD Business School. 127 countries all around the world were evaluated through 81 indicators to obtain their results in innovation.

The best-ranked countries in the list were Switzerland, Sweden, Netherlands, United States of America, and the United Kingdom, which far surpass the achievements of the Latin Americans.

Switzerland, as the highest ranked worldwide, received a score of 67.69 points and Chile, the best ranked in Latin America scored 38.70 points.

Innovation in Latin America continues to be challenging. Despite the lack of improved scores, there are still many opportunities. It is worthwhile to point out that the region is fit for innovation and development, which is the result of local governments investing in projects that will later bear fruits as economic development and increase in the wellbeing of their countries populations.

The study also shows a marked interest in agriculture and food systems. It can be evidenced in the advances of these two sectors thanks to genetic and technological investigations. The study proposes shifting the investigative capacities towards practical problem solving for the issues that producers and companies are dealing with.

The study produces two easily distinguishable conclusions for Latin America and the world. First, that the innovative breach between first world and developing countries is still very wide, and second, there must be further investment incentives in order to make innovation grow.